Having an amazing time in NY. Stories soon!

Terrace Bagels 2, Originally uploaded by nycblondieandbrownie

In the Brooklyn neighbourhood, erin says “arguably the best bagels in nyc”.

Another review, from yelp:

“The bagel I had from Terrace Bagels might possibly be the platonic ideal of a bagel. All other bagels are now ruined for me, and I will never be able to eat any other than those from Terrace Bagels again.”

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?

Paul Varjak: The mean reds. You mean like the blues?

Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you’re getting fat, and maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid, and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?

luggage, Originally uploaded by Digiart2001 | jason.kuffer

For G: Where in NY to find cheap luggage on yelp (also, reviews of luggage stores).

NYC – Fashion District: Garment Worker, Originally uploaded by wallyg

• the Garment District!
• walking around Central Park.
• the Guggenheim, even if only for the architecture.

• International shoppers can get a discount card good for 11% off most purchases at the Visitor’s Center.
• Weekdays before lunch are the least crowded times to visit Macy’s.
• Take advantage of baggage check/coat check if you’ll be shopping for a while.
• Ask the cashier if you’d like to have your purchases shipped home.
• The lower floors tend to be more crowded than the upper floors.
• Macy’s is known for having great sales, especially compared to some of the more upscale New York City department stores.”

God Bless Your Grace on Thee, Originally uploaded by lorenzodom

I’m crazy about this City.

Daylight slants like a razor cutting the buildings in half. In the top half I see looking faces and it’s not easy to tell which are people, which the work of stonemasons. Below is shadow where any blasé thing takes place: clarinets and lovemaking, fists and the voices of sorrowful women. A city like this one makes me dream tall and feel in on things. Hep. It’s the bright steel rocking above the shade below that does it. When I look over strips of green grass lining the river, at church steeples and into the cream-and-copper halls of apartment buildings, I’m strong. Alone, yes, but top-notch and indestructible–like the City in 1926 when all the wars are over and there will never be another one. The people down there in the shadow are happy about that. At last, at last, everything’s ahead. The smart ones say so and people listening to them and reading what they write down agree: Here comes the new. Look out. There goes the sad stuff. The bad stuff. The things-nobody-could-help stuff. The way everybody was then and there. Forget that. History is over, you all, and everything’s ahead at last. In halls and offices people are sitting around thinking future thoughts about projects and bridges and fast-clicking trains underneath.

Harlem in the 20s, via Jazz by Toni Morrison, who I read lots of at Uni but haven’t picked up since she was all over the Oprah book club. Note to self: there’s no need to be such a snob about the popular cultures.

The Campbell Apartment, Originally uploaded by absolutwade

Beautiful cocktail bar at Grand Central. See also: Wikipedia.